Letter to the Editor: Don't throw open the borders

By JAMES SELBYPrice

Editor:

The United States Department of Transportation is poised to kick the border wide open to trucks from Mexico operating throughout the U.S. This will have a very real effect on all highway users. DOT says safety and security programs are in place. This is a joke.

Truckers in the United States must hold a valid commercial driver's license with 10 years of driving history. For the Mexican equivalent, we won't know if these drivers are trained as truckers or terrorists.

United States truckers are required to be drug and alcohol tested and to follow hours of service regulations for driving time. No such regulations exist in Mexico.

DOT says every truck will be inspected at the border. Not likely. They inspect less than 4 percent right now. And what will these trucks haul into the U.S.? Could be people or drugs or dirty bombs. We won't know.

Why the rush to open the border? The answer is money. The United States Chamber of Commerce believes we need more trucks and cheaper labor. So, safety is compromised and American drivers lose their jobs. Doesn't sound like anyone in this country wins.

Right now, there are definitely more questions than answers. And until the DOT can assure the public that Mexican trucks are just as safe as U.S. trucks, the border must stay closed.

Contact your elected officials today and tell them to keep the border closed.